Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Heroes Hangout: Linsanity

298 comments:

All you Morey apologists out there, u really call yourself a true Lin fan? What has Morey done except to stymie what was becoming an all star career for Lin? Just because he is paying him a lot of money he is a great guy?

U still beliebe only Mchale was behind the way Lin was used and morey had no say? U think that will change if Lin sticks around? U really think Morey didn't put Lin on the block? U really think Morey believes Lin is an essential part of Rox'a future?

I still can't believe some of you take Morey's words at face value. How naive can u get?

If u really feel otherwise, tell me what morey has done to further Lin's basketball career. And don't bring up money. Do u really think Lin is in better position than he was last year?

If I were MDA, I will secretly pitch through my henchmen to Howard that Lin is the best PG of the entire NBA in playmaking and passing the ball to Howard. Howard will force his way to ensure Lin be THE PG when he joins the Rox. Then me as the Lakers coach, will have my coaching job at least safe as long as Steve Nash is around.

If I were the Lakers FO, I will pitch to Howard that Harden is a far worse a ballhog than Kobe. Re-signing with LAL on the 5year $118mil contract, expanding his China market endorsement through the huge LAL presence there will make so much more sense!

I completely agree solidz. Lin was a les' idea and morey didn't like him at all. Nor Mchale of course. I'm pretty sure Morey told Mchale to utilize Lin in that way cause he knew it was his weakness.... But the result is jeremy got stronger mentally and improved his skill.

Next season Morey will officially be the dumbest gm.in the league who cut Lin... Twice

No no no. There is a honorable way to run your business effectively and there is morey. To justify that he can be as ruthless as he wants to be to be a good gm is pure bs . Even in criminal enterprise, there is a code if honor. And we all kniw it's not just Lin that morey just effs over.

Morey needs to realize that there are human emotions behind these players which just looks at as simple commodities. Yes it's all business. But morey is being a pure dick. A moon faced, out of shape prick who will never bring a championship no matter how smart he thinks he is. Go eat another donut.

Michael Terry, aren't u one of the biggest morey apologists? . Arent u the one of many who declared morey is doing nothing wrong for trying to get CP3? That morey must love Lin because he said Lin was responsible for 3rd highest number of wins? If so, Damn right I'm calling u out.

Morey is disrespecting Lin's game by trying to dump him because in his eyes he is no better than a supporting role player. He has tricked Lin and the rest of us ( except u, genius) by declaring that he is going to be a foundational piece, that he plans to build the team around him. ( perhaps he never said it that way, but a lot if implications were made) . We all had high hopes that as the pg of a young team, Lin had the opportunity to become a superstar. Boy were we wrong. Morey's plan for Lin was never long term. He was always eyeing cp3 and d12 to replace the guys he brought the year before. He made Lin's situation worse in every conceivable way possible and now this contract is preventing him from moving to a different team. Of course I'm pissed at him and I want Lin to get the hell out if Houston.

Let me put it in another way for u. I want u to stop spewing out delusions because it just drives me nuts abd people want u to stop spewing shit because they want me to stop debunking the crap out of you. Different reasons, same effect. Comprehendez?

Actually Solidz75, your flaming of Lin as being a guy who is "naive" and "can't shoot" and "can't defend" and "has a bad agent" and "should be traded out of Houston" make you sound EXACTLY like Daryl Morey.

Since when was I a Morey lover? I've been criticising his judgment since Lin was in NY.

At least I don't AGREE with Morey's beliefs the aay you do Solidz75, though I'd say that your belief that Lin's not as good as Patrick Beverley is something that not even your boy Morey would openly agree with.

ANyways, my take is that JL would remain with ROX, unless DH deal goes thru and some internal change in ROX team structure.

We should know by next week, its wait and see kinda game.

Sometimes, I do wonder, if Jeremy could just go to a unpopular team and could proof again of his Linsanity. It doesnt matter if they are not playoff contender for now, but slowly, they could build on to it.

His best advice on the court is to have fun, said Lin, because basketball is a game. Meanwhile, he told the youths to not be afraid to admit your weaknesses and work on them. He said his weakness is his left hand and outside shooting, which he had been working on during the offseason. “Even though I’m not good and it is really frustrating, through time it gets a lot better and a lot easier. My weaknesses have now become my strengths,” he said.

Towards the end, Jim Herdt, 9th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, encouraged Lin for being an outstanding role model for the youths and service men and woman out there.

“Jeremy, I just want to give you a virtual high five for being a role model that you are in the world that is sometimes so hard that you’ve mentioned to be a positive role model in particularly in some sports that we don’t do so well. Having a values system that you live, it is important for these young snipers and for all of us young and old to see that there is someone out there that lives the value system that is worth emulating. I just want to say thank you for all you do for all of us and for these young men and women that serve our country so well to have someone like you to look up to. Thank you so much.”

Lin's comment speaks to understanding his own ying/yang, being sure of himself, being open to be a good role model, and the spiritual/philosophical ideas of last shall be first, etc.

Specific to his admission of his shortcomings, it's and expression of strength and power.

2 Corinthians 12:9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Lin tweeted that last season. If it's too Christian for some, then Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

PS - someone like that commands followership, which implies he is a good leader. I wonder if he's a good leader amongst his friends. We'll see as his own business/initiatives grow. It's an exciting time to be a fan. Personally, I'd volunteer for one of his charity initiatives, if not to just feel what how his values are expressed in a group of people.

Solidz, Lin is known for being his own biggest critics. We should be glad that he isn't complacent with his achievement(underachieved in the last season, but still, he had improved, started all 82 games, chalked up commendable stats despite underutilised) and pompous to pronounce that he doesn't have any weaknesses. It's good to see him improves by leaps and bounds during the offseason and his "weaknesses become strengths". And, in regards to KHuang, can you please, just let it go?

In this type of casual conversation in Google Hangout with military members and common folks, we can see the true impact of Linsanity. His humility put others at ease and how he treated other people truly made people feel appreciated.

My 8 year old watched with intent on how he answered questions about being picked last or working hard on his weaknesses. I know it resonated with him.

His impact as a good role model for the next generation is a breathe of fresh air in this era of "me-first" athletes, divas and celebrities.

Keep up the good work, Jeremy! Many claimed to be Christ followers but few tried to live like Him to love and care for other people. Don't ever change.

No no no. He is a his biggest critic but he lives in reality. Outside shooting and left hand are weaknesses of his that he must improve. He has a good self awareness. Thst is different than being pompous or delusional like some if u. For some of u to argue that as being too overly critical of himself is so idiotic when it is true. For khuang to continue to argue that fact when Lin himself has come out and said it is just being khuangish.

He made mention of several players that froze up in crunch time, including Eddie Jones and Nick Anderson.

I remember watching Nick Anderson implode during that playoff series. At the time, that surprised me because I had watched Anderson play so well for the Fighting Illini along with Kendall Gill and the player I thought was going to stick in the NBA, Marcus Liberty.

Reading Shaq's stuff on Nick Anderson reminded me how well Lin shoots under pressure. And that's when the great shooters get the job done, when the game is on the line.

Solidz sometimes u should just eat a dick and STFU.Khuang at times, too,tho not that often.And yes Lin IS a really good shooter allready. still his playmaking and Defense and finishing at the rim are better so it is some kind of a weakness even though it is pretty good allready. I think a year or two he´ll be an elite shooter ala Nash. thats the thing with Jeremy. He improves fast as fck

@hans - yes, Lin consistently improves fast, and it'll be fascinating to see how next season rolls out. I keep looking at his face when he got to call to go in against the Nets on 2/4/12 and imagine back to D-League for GSW and now. It's very fast, the levels he's climbed. Some kneejerk comments on CF and here keep pulling him back to our street ball quality, and I just think back on days when I showed up at gyms with better players and how it was just impossible to get a few games in. So, his level is so high and keeps going higher, fast as fck!

you were BRANDING him a hater even before that."Lin shoots very well grom outside, no matter what LIN HATERS claim...Lin's outside shooting in the second half of the season and during Linsanity indicate that he's an accurate outside shooter. No wonder the haters IN FULL FLAME MODE OF LIN AND LIN FANS." <- purely for his observations.

Lin: outiside shooting and left hands are my biggest weaknesses. I'm working hard on them to ultimately make them my strengths.

Khuang: no you are wrong. U have no weaknesses. U r a complete player. U r too hard on yourself.

Lin: Dude, thanks for the compliments. But I think I know my game and the area I need to work in to improve my game.

Khuang: Trust me. I've been watching NBA longer than u have. U are a gunner and a dunker. U r a complete pg. Your teammates and the refs bring your game down. You are wasting your time on those skills!

Khuang; no u know what?! U r a Lin hater and a doubter. U r a racist and a troll. U know I do to them? I own and debuk you. I own you Lin!!!!.... ..

.... Click...

Lin: WTF?! Dang never doing this google crap again. I got enough on my plate with morey effing me over but this delusional moron? This is why Internet is a dangerous place....I'm outty.. Gotta shoot some more...

why do you think i'm trolling? - bcos i couldn't possibly have any kind of opinion that i'd want to express freely as an individual? - bcos if i see you misrepresenting people, i should timidly shut up?- bcos correcting you automatically makes someone a troll?

"You make tons of personal attacks"- i do not make personal attacks. i point out the underlying presuppositions within your posts, line by line. YOU however do make tons of personal attacks on me, you're doing it now.

"encourage Lin hating trolls like Solidz75 to attack others here."- I'M ENCOURAGING LIN TROLLS TO ATTACK OTHERS HERE?- i've never encouraged Solidz to do anything, and as if he's someone who doesn't have his own mind and does what he wants/ sees fit.- so what you're saying is, if i see something of w/c i have an opinion about, perhaps even info that might correct a misrepresentation, i'd better just shut up or i might be accused of "encouraging" someone?

"You have a vendetta against me for standing up to the trolls."- i have no "vendetta", or whatever dramatic imaginings you're spinning in your head.- you mean i want trolls to prosper here? - or do you mean i'm targeting you for being the hero/ champion of the board? SMH.

who is attacking you, khuang? we all love you dearly. sometimes our words may seem harsh but that's because we know you are from the school of hard knocks like you claimed "many have tried, all have failed' in trying to bully you.

we peons wouldn't dare to attack you. we know this is your forum and while we're here we are only living in YOUR world and feeding off YOUR charity.

when we disagree with you, it doesn't mean we think you're a retard. far from it. it only means we need further education from the man who's watched more nba games here than everyone here combined even if most of those games were from nose bleed seats where you're forced to watch the game off the jumbotron (but we know you did that on purpose so you have the macro perspective of the game you attend, genius that you are).

we know that compared to you that we're all trolls on YOUR gracious site. we're here to learn. sometimes we get confused that this is an open forum where we are free to discuss conflicting ideas but in friendly manners. that is our mistake for coming into your house and expecting you to accommodate to our own ideas.

we are fools to believe mchell is bad for lin just as we are fooled into believing lin is not a finished product and has no room for improvement other than that spin dribble that you think will compliment lin's game very well. i think lin will be glad to know that you think he's a finished product so he can relax over the summer and not work on his perceived weaknesss as they simply do not exist.

with 44.1%FG, JLin is a really good shooter and he knows that too. of course he wants to improve and be better, have you ever heard any player said he's done with his game and is perfect? I rather spend time cheering than picking on his weakness..if there is any he knows what it is.

But the bottom line is he realizes it is something he needs to improve - something that I happen I agree with.

For you people to say he is being humble is just not respecting Lin's self awareness of his skill set as a player.

He is not good at finishing with his left. He is far from being a Nash, even Bev like shooter. I saw him miss a lot of open jumpers last year. It is a weakness that a lot of us have been pointing out for some time, which Lin clearly recognizes. Who are u to say he is not beinf genuine and just saying his for the sake of appearing humble.

KHuang:"Well, I guess it's a good thing for the anti Lin fans trolls who call this board..."bullies" to have a voice here. - i called you bully. you, NOT THE BOARD. and just bcos someone dares to point out your bullying ways doesn't make them "Anti-Lin fan Trolls." Stop LABELING people.

"...so that they can have fun competing amongst themselves to see who can have the most influence here."- is this what you REALLY think this is? what you really care about?- bcos for you, someone like me speaking out can't be from a genuine need to express myself, no it's simply bcos i'm trying to compete for influence on the board? - why? bcos this is what you aim for with your posts all over the page? influence?

KHuang, i might be usually quiet, but i'm not one to let your insinuations slip by.

Others on and off this board use that term to describe Lin fans. You can choose to martyr yourselves with them, or you can simply let it go by the way you demand that I let personal attacks on me go by.

And your accusation of ME pandering for influence is something you MADE UP. Frankly, I wouldn't even want to influence others even it were handed to me willingly. Your mind made that up about me, but my mind doesn't work the way you say it does.

I'm here to participate on a forum in a non flaming way about Lin with Lin's fans. I'm NOT here to put up with your flames and especially not your IMAGINATION about who I really am.

"You want to martyr yourself over the "bully" word.."- you're the one with the martyr/ victim complex. it must be why this is the perspective you're taking on this, bcos you can't escape your mindset.

"Others on and off this board use that term to describe Lin fans."- but in this case you are referring to me tho, aren't you? or you can clear this up to the board that i'm not lumped in there with the group you're accusing of misbehavior.

"And your accusation of ME pandering for influence is something you MADE UP."- ? i never would have had this thought even, until YOU brought it up FIRST. again, our words can't help but REFLECT OUR MINDSET. and apparently, influence IS what's on your mind.

"I'm NOT here to put up with your flames and especially not your IMAGINATION about who I really am."- so putting up links/ PROOF that might go against your claims = flaming people now? - YOU started attacking me, for no reason. - and i use no imagination, so don't imply i lie. all i do is point out the implied meanings of YOUR OWN WORDS. you however have made baseless accusations about me over and over, quite dishonorably.

Wow, anyone who attacks via, one of the most reasonable posters, gotta be a TROLL. Anyway, Lin is just beginning his career and we can judge him the way he performs in future. When Lin says some parts of his game are his weaknesses, he's just being honest.

Via, you and I know that KHuang calls anyone a troll whenever he disagrees with that person's statements; therefore, I am calling him a TROLL (notice the capitalization) whenever I disagree with him. With a person like that, you have to resort to his own tactic. I guess since Lin played with 5 opposing players guarding him at all times, there is no need for Lin to improve significantly. As for me, I believe certain parts of Lin's game is not as developed relatively speaking due to the fact that he actually had to spend some time studying to get into Harvard; and I hope Lin can improve those areas ASAP and start making a bigger impact.

KHuang, we're good. I appreciate you speaking up for me sometimes. I'm a guy pushing forward, and I sometimes don't to watch my back because forward seems way more fun, productive, and hopeful. I let things go and very quickly, I'm onto a new adventure where it's a whole new set of social sanctions:

http://quizlet.com/dictionary/social-sanctions/

The cost is I'm not in the cool club for long, I guess, if at all. But you know, everyone likes to run free with the big dogs. Woof!

Lol been away for a while...Jeez you guys/gals let's just agree to disagree.

BTW I disagree with KHuang at times and he's never called me a troll, and well most of the time he proves me wrong :P Solidz makes some great points but is more of a glass half full guy, while KHuang is the opposite, but bet ur arse KHuang is the most vocal guy here whenever Lin is dissed from a racial point of view, which well we all know how Lin was passed over by many schools/teams.

BTW Lin was a much better shooter before he was injured, and anyone can see he improved vastly since he got over his injury and his explosive first step back. I don't want to say he is misused, I held that opinion before, I think its more Lin was underutilized all year due to Harden's ball dominance, and other than his inability to lead I think McHale holds no sway on Harden and it shows...And you all know what I feel about that wannabe elite named Harden.

I think no matter what team Lin ends up in 2013-2014 season, AS LONG AS HE IS PUT IN A POSITION TO MATTER, he will do well. I will say that I hold 0 confidence Rockets will let him play that role, however.

Houston trying to lure Josh Smith and Dwight HowardIf free agent center Dwight Howard ultimately decides to sign with the Houston Rockets, he may not be the only big-name free agent heading that way. According to two people with knowledge of the situation, the Rockets' Monday meeting with free agent forward Josh Smith in Los Angeles included a discussion about a possible partnership with him and his childhood friend from Atlanta in Howard. USA Today Sports

well the rumor is D12 is asking for a 3rd max contract player, which sounds like he wants to have a Houston Big 3 of him, Harden and insert another superstar name here, while Lakers office retaliated, during his meeting with them, by giving D12 a gift of...... IPad

“Both with Omer and Jeremy, we feel like they’re good fits for Dwight. Omer with Dwight would give us the best (centers) in the league in combination. Jeremy is an attacking guard, great in pick-and-roll, a great fit for Dwight. Dwight works great with shooting and attacking guards. Harden is great at both. That’s why he’s an All Star.” Houston Chronicle

Jeremy is only an attacking guard who works great with Dwight.But Harden is great in BOTH attacking and shooting. He's an All Star!

Translation:1. Harden is indispensable as the 1st option to work with Dwight since he is so great in attacking the rim and shooting. Lin will be the backup (and Asian money-maker)2. Lin is available for any possible trade with the 3rd All-Star at PF (J-Smoove?) since he's kinda only great as an attacking guard.

That's my impression, too. And, it makes you wonder. Just how good a shooter does Lin need to be to get some credit? Didn't his shot trend significantly up since over the course of the season? Wouldn't you expect a young, talented, hard-working guard to continue to improve quickly, perhaps Lin more than almost any other? Every other player I've ever seen has been valued for their upside, when that upside was obvious, while Lin is continually treated like this is it, he'll never get better. It's truly bizarre.

If Lin shot the way he did but was any color but Asian, everybody including the Lin haters on this forum would be calling him a "great shooter".

People around the NBA, including Morey, believe that Lin has little to no upside and will "fall back to earth" as a D league player once the NBA figures him out. We here get constantly criticized for arguing that Lin is not just legit but has All Star talent.

Personally, I don't buy the argument that Harden is a great shooter and passer. All of those 3-23 shooting nights and 9 turnover specials with horrifically bad defense have left a very sour taste in my mouth. I started the season as a Harden fan and then was forced to lower my opinion of him. My adoration of Lin's fundamentally sound game has nothing to do with me disliking Harden, as I would prefer Harden to be a better shooter and passer to go with Lin on a winning team.

Harden is going to have to change his ways if he's to coexist with Dwight Howard. Lin is not the one I worry about coexisting with Howard, Harden is.

MT, I really think it comes down to the sin of disbelief by the basketball people (Morey and McHale) because they dumped Lin in Christmas 2011.

It's human nature of not wanting to be proven wrong (even by the owner) so they are always so focused to point to Lin's flaws that made them release him the first time.

With Harden's trade, there is less incentive to make Lin look good because they will look bad. "Look, he's not really a PG with those TOs!" "Just be a safe PG to push the pace"

"Look Les, we were right to dump him the first time. Harden is the perfect All-Star perfect for our system. Lin got potential but see how he struggled being a spot-up shooter?"

I'll be surprised if these thoughts don't cross their mind. How else would we explain Lin got criticized by his coach for potentially having 9 TOs (but he never did) while Harden got no comment when he got 9 TOs?

No doubt Morey and McHale had a little conflicting interest in letting Lin be successful with his high-risk/high-reward Linsanity style.

I think doubters thinking is: JLin was hyped up to be a franchise player. And still is hyped up to be a All-star/Franchise player by those crazy Lin fans. But franchise players should already be beasts. If Lin fans say he is or has potential of becoming a franchise player, he shouldn't have gaping holes in his game i.e. he should not really be still developing on fundamental skills like shooting and dribbling, unless you are a beast in other areas (like Rondo or Rubio who are supposed to be beasts with passing)

Then there are fools who think Jeremy Lin is a bust for not scoring more points or having a better playoffs.

I get irritated every time I read another hater article out there saying that Lin "didn't live up to his contract". That's just typical media anti Asian racist BS that would hold no basis in reality if a nonAsian NBA player came out and had the exact same season that Lin did.

Solidz75, explain to this pro Lin forum of ours why you insist that Jeremy Lin is such a bad shooter that Patrick Beverley shoots better than Lin.

I'm curious to see why you think the man who scored more points than anyone in his first NBA starts and had a stellar shooting performance last season once his knee recovered is a poorer shooter than a guy like Bev who couldn't score on his own and needed Lin's assists to get baskets.

I can't help but think you're right. And it's extremely interesting. If anyone in the league were going to be unbiased about Lin, it would be Morey. I read an article about Morey describing how he got into sports statistics as a teenager. He wanted to prove that his favorite teams' players were better than others. Unfortunately, what he found from the objective data is that they weren't! But, here, there is overwhelming objective data that suggests Lin will be a star, and I've seen Morey quote lots of this evidence in various places. But it seems like he still can't make himself believe it in his heart.

If you had, say, John Wall instead of Lin last year. And John Wall had finished the season shooting 3s at 40%, I just don't think you'd characterize him as just an attacking guard. You'd phrase your discussion of him by talking about how good he was at attacking AND his rapid improvement in shooting during his first year of starts. You'd never leave that out. It's just weird to me.

Jimmer Fredette legitimately struggled despite being the overall #11 pick, unlike Lin who has not struggled despite being undrafted.

Jimmer doesn't defend, rebound, lead, run plays, or even score like Lin does. Not yet, at least.

And as far as Morey goes, Michael Terry, I agree that Morey can't seem to believe that Lin is the star that his stats tell him that he is. It seems that Morey is susceptible to the very same peer pressure that his stats purportedly contradict.

When Morey wrote that article in Spring 2012 criticizing Jeremy Lin, I knew right there that Morey was not the basketball genius that the press says he is.

Meanwhile John Wall is not only being complimented for his improved shooting which still is not as good as Lin's, he's being talked about as a max contract player. Wall is very good and is one of my favorite point guards, but he's got a long way to go before he starts gaming the NBA the way Lin does.

I don't know if I'd say that Lin "struggled" at GS in the few minutes he played.

He was off the charts statistically and produced very well when he was unleashed.

Jimmer, on the other hand, had opportunities that Lin never got. He had more chances to prove himself, even under Keith Smart who disliked Lin. Jimmer is simply not as good an all around player as Lin, and even in scoring Jimmer has not reached Lin's level yet.

If I went by media press reports of Lin's deficiencies instead of watching him play especially live, I'd have assumed Lin had a game similar to Jimmer's. It's just like when I first heard of Lin right after the 2010 NBA Draft, I thought Lin was going to be this undersized athletically limited poor shooting pass first guard who had little impact on the game. Instead I saw an NBA player making NBA moves and then I have been a huge Lin fan ever since.

Cool, just checkin'. He was v popular and it was sad to see him leave GSW. I wish I could be a fly on the wall between Joe Lacob and his son now ... story goes his son knew him in high school and influenced his dad to get Lin. Oh, wait a minute, maybe the younger Lacob is one of us!

" Harden is a bad shotoer and flopper who gets gifted 10 calls per game. Hes also a ballhog with a horrific Assists Turnover ratio of 1,3. Hes a really ineffetive player but i have to mention him againg because i cant just praise Lin once without mentioning how Harden is better"fixed

I'm pretty sure Dwight Howard is going to be mad if Harden and Beverley continue to play matador ballerina defense on perimeter opponents. That's because Howard will get fouls put on him and be made to look like a bad defensive player when Bev and Harden are not trying to stop people the way Lin does.

I could eventually see a rift developing between Howard and Harden if Harden continues to tank on defense. Lin will get the blame for it, but Lin will know how to counter that on and off the court.

The truth is ANY half decent true NBA quality guy can become a star if his team offers him the opportunity. Harden was placed in a position to succeed and given freedom to be the #1 guy and he delivered for the most part.

Lin got 7 games to be that guy and he delivered. When Harden was out, Lin delivered. Any guy in that position who is a real NBA player can deliver.

Tyreke Evans was in that position as a rookie and delivered. And now he supposedly stinks because his coach and ownership were complete idiots.

John Wall honestly stunk his first few years but he was given the chance to be the star and given chance after chance as a #1 pick. If he was a second round or undrafted guy playing like he did his first 2 years, he'd be out of the league today. He's getting better now finally but he had 3 seasons to screw it up and grow.

In my honest objective opinion, as of now, Lin, Irving, Curry, Lillard, Jennings, etc are all in the same class. Then you have Wall, Holiday, George, Walker, Lawson etc who I actually think are a bit below the first five I mentioned above. And any one of those guys could run a team about the same if you interchange them, including the second tier 5. Sure each have their own strengths and weaknesses but it all would about even out.

I don't necessarily believe Lin is much better than any of those guys mentioned above, but I honestly don't believe he is much worse either and this is being purely objective. Those that call Lin a scrub, they aren't being objective, don't know bball, or they just hate what he represents.

My point is one that has been rehashed already. Lin is a pioneer and it's darn tough for a pioneer to make groundbreaking strides. Because Lin isn't clearly better than any of those guys I named above, he's not going to be handed a team to lead because he doesn't look the part or fit the mold. It's not just the GM's who think that or the coaches. The problem is also that most NBA fans, even Lin fans, of all types think that.

He wasn't supposed to be in the NBA period. He'll have to prove he's almost as dominant as Lebron to get his chance to lead a squad in the NBA and that's just what it is.

Lin haters for the most part are probably not of Asian descent and hate Lin because it goes beyond basketball. I believe they hate him because of fans like us who believe he is even on the level of these other players I named above. And then there are the idiot Lin fans who think he is better than Michael Jordan.

Secondly, Lin haters see Lin as a societal threat to establishment. An Asian nerd who can compete with top professional American athletes? An Asian nerd who thinks it's his right to be at that level and on an even playing field? I mean it scares the hell out of anyone who isn't an Asian nerd. What next? The NFL, MLB, music, movies, corporate America, politics - are Asian nerds going to try and take that over too? What then? Are Middle Easterners, Indians, and who knows what going to believe they too can achieve in these fields?

So hating and discounting Lin is all about self-preservation. Thus they pick on his weaknesses and put him in a position to fail. A lesser guy than Lin would have crumbled. The thing people fail to realize is that Lin has real basketball talent. He would have been exposed a LONG time ago if he didn't have extreme basketball talent. But all they hear is ESPN talking heads saying he stinks and then when they finally watch the playoffs they've seen Lin MIA and stink in GM1 last season.

So Lin fans, do NOT be frustrated and just be patient. Lin is doing his thing and because bball is a sport supposedly based on meritocracy, Lin will eventually break through regardless of what Morey, Mchale, or the NBA, or the masses do to him. His time WILL come.

Agree with most of what u said. But it is also not uncommon for a guy with super potential to never achieve success due to ack of opportunities and faith from people around him. I fear that this is a distinct possibility with Lin. And he is only getting older.

At this point, he needs another divine intervention a la someone getting hurt and him taking the reins, for people to believe in him again. I am darn pessimistic given the way the past season and off season has turned out.

I hope Harden gets hurt early in the Season for like 2-3 months. Now normally i dont wish injuries to palyers but i cant stand this egoistical diva. This would totally open up everybodies eyes when they see how well the Rockets do without Harden hogging the ball.then when hes back healthy for the playoffs finally Rockets and Lin would play the way they are supposed to and Lin would ahve great games/numbers AND the Rockets would stomp their opponents. Pls Harden get injured soon

Khuang, yes I agree, but unless Lin is in LA or NY as THE GUY, he is going to get cheated by refs time and time again being stuck as a role player on a small/mid market team. At the same time, guys like Lebron might be ref protected at times, but in the Finals, Ginobili intentionally elbowed him in the face and only got called for a basic foul, and Lebron took some hard shots with no whistles at all. I think elite players can play through it. The Jkidd foul 2 seasons ago was a joke and how that wasn't a flagrant and/or suspension on Kidd is beyond me. So yeah there are times Lin is cheated...

Solidz, yeah it does stink Lin is pushing 25 now. He got a late start, and time is ticking agreed. But I think Lin will be a lot better with every year. This is not a guy who had the luxury to play ball & train 24/7 until 2 seasons ago and that's why I believe his ceiling is higher than his peers aside from his athleticism also being higher than most (but his vertical leap needs to improve).

Even if Lin is still an off the ball role player this season in Houston, he will be a much more productive off the ball role player to the point people will take notice. Or Lin will force himself to be more dominant & dynamic and defer less to Harden and Parsons whether or not that's the actual game plan.

Also, I do believe Morey wants to trade this guy right now but only if he can get something for it.

I think without a doubt, Lin will be a better off the ball player. But I feel like no matter how much he has improved, Mchale will keep a short leash on him and make sure Lin doesn't deviate from their vision of his role. That mean no full court passes. No high risk high reward plays. Everything must go thru harden or Dwight ( if they get him). Mchale views Lin as a selfish player who is out there to pad his stats for god sakes. Every time Lin tries to play his brand of basketball, Mchale will be there to make sure it never happens. Because to them harden and his other superstar, and not Lin are the keys to championship. Lin is at best a dispensable role player that they will look to she'd before they pay 15 mil a year.

That is why short of a divine intervention, it will be hard for him to achieve his potential. Lin needs all the help he can get.

I thought Lin was getting that by coming to Houston, which ended up being the worst possible place he could've ended up. The faster he leaves this place, the better it will be before it is too late.

Lin needs to play pg to become a superstar. it definitely won't happen in Houston.

Solidz, remember Houston is the only team that pursued him. Houston is not the worst place, NYK would have been worse with Lin on a pathetic low-ball contract and riding the pine all year and now forgotten completely. Lin completely played his cards right.

Houston has to at least play Lin on an 8 mill per yr deal. They can't completely marginalize him although they want Harden to be the star. It's not the worst place in the world for Lin to end up. It was the only place he could go period.

I agree Lin won't become a star in Houston unless Harden breaks a leg.

Look even at Lin's summer league. His team was down like 15 points when Lin got "dunked on." At that point, Mchale would have yelled and benched Lin and the team would have lost. But Lin took the team all the way back and won..Yeah a pro-am game, sure it means nothing, but Lin shows he is resilient and needs opportunities to play his game. The same is true at any level of sport.

@ Spotless: we'll see if Lin moves..I don't think too many teams are honestly interested but all it takes is one...

Completely disagree. If Lin had to do this again, he would never choose Houston, even with the money he received.

Going to a team where he is not the pg is the worst that could've ever happen to him. If the rox didn't make that "ridiculous" offer with plans to use him like this - Lin would have been arch better place (Dallas? Toronto? On a professional level).

I truly believe that Lin wasted a year if his precious career here . The longer this off season plays out the more I believe it. 8 mili really nothing given amount if money Lin must bring in. It's 15 mil they have to give him they are worried about and they will move him before it happens. Cause they can't justify using him like this at that point.. And they won't change their idiotic ways.

Swinglinezigzag, the way NBA refs let opponents bash Lin is not comparable to what Lebron James gets.

Lebron is a superstar that has traditionally gotten the benefit of the whistle.

Lin gets illegally fouled and whistled for phantom fouls. It has had a horrible impact on the Rockets win loss record and caused the Rockets to not trust in Lin.

No matter where Lin goes, he will be dogged by fouls. Even in NY, he got bashed repeatedly by the refs. LA won't change that.

Lin experiences more illegal contact than I was used to seeing in the brutal early 90s when Dennis Rodman and the Pistons were illegally wrestling with defenders or when Pat Riley's Ewing Knicks were abusing the hand check rules. Lin could easily have played in that era because he's accustomed to playing through multiple hard uncalled fouls while being whistled for being near opponents on defense.

Khuang, I agree but at least it's not worse. You know what I expected the NBA refs to do? Call Lin for a bunch of palming and traveling. That's the quickest way to kill a guy's game. If stuck between that and swallowing the whistle, I'm sure Lin too would take the latter. Yes, there were a lot of odd calls against Lin on both sides of the ball last year, but overall I don't think the refs completely killed his game although they consistently made his life very difficult.

Solidz, I dont understand what you are talking about. Nobody except Houston offered Lin a contract. Dallas, Toronto? They didn't offer him anything. How could he choose to go there? Lin would have been back in NY playing under a crappy contract and relegated to the bench. Even if Dallas or Toronto did offer Lin 15 mill 3 years, the Knicks would have matched that! And trust me, Carmelo would have been hogging the ball and you'd be frustrated at seeing the Knicks lose and Woodson benching Lin all season long.

Blame the Wizards for not trading for Harden. They could have had him. Blame the Warriors, they could have had him.

Morey did build a team around Lin with a deadly spot up shooter in Martin. Lin just got screwed that Harden was available and that Morey believed Harden was worth trading for whereas the other teams didn't.

It's a hypothetical situation that IF Lin knew what would have happened last season before ever signing with Houston and agreed to the poison pill, maybe Lin would've refused to up the ante on his contract and stayed with NYK with a slightly smaller contract if this means he gets to play (a real) PG.

Well k gunner, I think Lin was in a slightly different position. He said the Knicks forced him to test market value and would only match something else he got. Otherwise they were going to completely low ball him if there were no bidders for his services.

It also sounds like Houston & Lin's agents colluded on a certain level to game the Knicks, who probably pissed off Lin's team by not coming to the table to deal wtih Lin fairly from the start. And at the time, Houston probably told Lin he'd be THE MAN at guard and they probably actually meant it at the time.

The fantasy of Lin playing PG in NY is just a fantasy. There is no guarantee Woodson would have let Lin play PG. What slightly smaller contract was there for Lin to sign when the Knicks weren't offering him anything above a qualifying offer? You wanted Lin to sign for 3 years 3 million so we could watch him possibly have a better role in NY?

I understand where people's frustrations are coming from but they are misplaced.

If Lin is as good as you think, he will break through. If Mchale and Morey break him, Lin isn't as good as you thought he was.

Trust me Lin has a larger role in Houston in his crappy role there because he has the 25 mill contract.

Lin still has a small shot of landing in Utah, and a really tiny chance of being in LA if DHO moves. I believe those are the only 2 teams left who might go for him. Maybe the Kings with new management (they should junk Thomas and parts for Lin to pair with Jimmer as a pure shooter). And maybe the S&T with Jack back to GSW. Other than that, Lin has nowhere to go.

Etane, Lin explained all this! He said he went to sign the 16-18 mill deal NYK claimed it would match. Morey told him the 16-18 deal was off the table and the only deal was for 25 mill max.

This has been discussed last year. What was Lin to do? Say no thanks to the offer and tell them "I'll just take the18 mill thanks and take my chances NY doesn't want me and allow you to get a discount."

He had to either sign the 25 mill or sign nothing at all at which point the only other thing he had was NYK's qualifying offer.

Swing, Lin wasn't offered another contract because of the ridiculous money that Houston offered him. There were interests but ultimately no offers because no one was going to best Houston's offer. To assume that no one other than houston was interested in Lin is again naive.

Now I use the term ridiculous not in the Carmelo sense but because in retrospect, they used this money to essentially ruin Lin's career. If their vision of him was that of a role player, why were they so desperate to get him. Why because morey had lost all of his pg options and he had.no other choice? To think that Lin had no other choice but Houston is way too simplistic way of looking at it.

The funny thing is its his contract that is making him hard to move. If he was getting paid 5 mil a year, no doubt there would be takers. But for 8 mil cap and 15 mil due next year. That is a little too much.

Now i don't blame Lin for taking the offer because morey thru his lying teeth promised Lin the world / telling him that it will be his team when in fact he was planning to go after his favorite pg cp3 this summer.

But the effer clearly lied. Didn't even use Lin the right way and brought his value way down.

I blame rox organization for creating this facade. Reneging in everything rhat was promised and not even giving Lin the simple opportunity to play pg. morey paid Lin to ef him over - this is the way I look at him.

Solidz, remember we have been following Lin since he was an NBA nobody because we saw it in him to do big things. I truly believe he is going to be a lot better this season and even better the season after. It doesn't matter how much the Rockets try to limit him, he will overcome it. Yes he will also struggle - even MJ and Lebron struggled - but overall he will do more good than bad.

Right now, people are doubting Lin, and as I said before, when you doubt this kid, he plays at his best because that's what he's use to. He's not use to being touted as a champ or the king or the face of a franchise. He's used to being mocked and discounted. Plus, he is also acclimating to the NBA game and the politics on and off the court. Even at the SF PRO AM, those guys are gunning for him thinking they can embarrass him. And I suspect Lin is going to end up leading his team to the 2013 championship or pretty darn close to it.

We all know Lin could be a 22ppg, 10.5 asst, 3 stl player even last season if he was the MAN. I think even MOREY knows that deep down inside. But they think Harden is more than capable of that and is more reliable and consistent and more able to produce championship caliber play. Harden's first half of the season was awesome and the second half was about the same as Lin's if not worse. It will be interesting to see what happens this year. Lin is going to come out and smoke people his way.

I care more about playoff performance though...I hope he's not cursed...

I hope so, swing. I try to find optimism but all I see are more frustration.

I hope he starts to consistently and confidently knock down shots. I know he is clutch but he will need to keep his confidence up despite the naysayers led by Mchale. I think if he starts making most of open looks.. Things will start to change.., but who knows. Call me pessimistic, iI just have no faith in this organization.

If the Knicks were serious about keeping Lin, they could have offered JLin a "fair" contract before letting him go to test the market. The fact that they let him receive other offers and using a scare tactic (claiming they would match up to a billion dollars) meant they wanted to low-ball him, or didn't intend to keep him due to other reasons (Carmelo). At that time, I think most NBA GMs thought the Knicks would match any contract offered, even the Rockets, so there were no other offers.

Given the choice between earning $25 million in a reduced role versus being out of the NBA or paid rookie contract (like Parsons), I think JLin will still choose the the guaranteed money. His contract protects him in a way that Houston would have to play him (unless he's really bad) or trade him to another team that values him (given that they are willing to receive his contract).

Houston could have the ultimate contending team. Think about it. Let Lin run the show as a PG like in NY or similar to how Parker does it in San Antonio. he could feed 3 point shooters on the wing ( Harden, Parsons) and get the midrange and post game of Motijunas involved like he did many times in the last season and Motie gonna be much better this season. He could absolutely destroy defenses if they cant leave Parsons and Harden open on the wings. he would just run the PnR to death with either D12 or Motiejunas, either finishing himself( 62 % at the rim alst season,predict 65-70 % this season) or giving them easy bucket after easy bucket inside. Remember how he made Chandler look like an Allstar? or how he even got Asik to score? now imagine if he has D12 and an improved Motie. Just devastating. Also Parsons and Harden are great cutter and off the ball players and could consistently put themselves in postion to score, and Lin will find them. Now if the Defense is able to shut all this down he could still initiate ballmovement, let Harden and Parsons handle the ball and Spot Up, cut for easy scoring opportunities. This is virtually impossible to defend. Rockets looked indefendable often last season with their shitty non PG centric offense imagine how efficient this would be. and then they have some great shooters (Garcia, maybe Delfino if they resign him), two capable big men as back ups (T.Jones and especially Asik) and a motivated young player to give lin rests (Beverley, who i think wont foul like crazy next season). When Lin is on the bench someone else (Parsons,Harden,Beverley) can handle the ball or they go for more post ups for D12. Here and there Harden can even throw in an iso, especially with Lin on the bench ( it´s quite effective if you dont do it all the time like las season). This is a serious,serious contender. Now i know McFail is dumb as fck but at least Morey has to somehow see this right?? shit it aint even hard to figure this all out only basic basketball knowledge is required. I cant believe the whole Rockets organisation is so freakin dumb. They could be contenders right away with D12 but rather talk about trading Lin. It´s just not reasonable at all...

Your proposal would make Jeremy Lin the star guard of the team. It's not what Morey wants. It's not what Rocket fans want. It's not what NBA analysts want. Heck it may not even be what Leslie Alexander wants either at this point. Even Calvin Murphy may have changed his tune at this point. And it's for sure not what Mchale wants or believes is even remotely possible.

Lin is not seen as the star or someone who can truly carry the team (because he is Asian, well really I don't think that's why but it doesn't help either). My point above is anyone can be the star if given the chance based on comparable talent. Unless Lin is a clearly BETTER talent, there is no way anyone can see it.

Because let's be real, we here simply BELIEVE it to be true, we don't know it to be true that a Lin led team would 100% be better for the Rockets than a Harden led team. In fact, most paid professional analysts, GMs and fans would scoff to think a Lin led team could be better than a Harden led team.

It's one thing to legitimately cry foul when Lin is benched for a 2nd string PG which is what happened a lot to Lin last year. It's another to claim the team is better off with Lin as the lead guard. Yeah I believe it, but it's just a belief at the end of the day, something only supported by the Linsanity spurt. Lin will be responsible for turning our belief into a fact but without the benefit of having his team behind him to allow him to do so. Like you said, It'll take injury to a teammate or insane drive on Lin's part to make that happen.

If Howard does leave for Houston, we'll see how badly LA actually wants him if at all to pair with D'Antoni. I doubt they want him but who knows...

If dantoni stuck his neck out for Lin, I think the lakers would consider him. But i have a feeling he won't. Plus not sure how much clout dantoni truly has in that organization.

Initially thought lakers would take Lin in a SnT if Howard signed with Houston. It appears less likely given how hard lakers are groveling. they are treating this debacle like either they get him or it 's a complete bust.

My feeling is Lin will stay. Not sure who would want his contract at this point. If a gm think likes us, it's no brained. I must say though that none believes in Lin at this time.

Solidz, D'Antoni apparently asked to trade Melo for Dwill remember? Trust me, he doesn't think that highly of Lin. I'm sure he's not against Lin going to LA but he's not actively vying for it and yes, I doubt he has much clout of any kind at all right now with management, which is in disarray itself as well. Asik is also not an LA type of big nor is he a D'Antoni type player although he can be traded for cap space to another team.

I blame the Clippers for getting their act together in the first time in club history. I really thought they would botch this whole thing and end up being forced to take Lin as CP3 bolted to Houston with Howard.

@ k gunner gold: yes he looked good at times. Lin has to just force the issue and fight for his own relevancy by pushing the limits of what they allow him to do. At times he will have to break rules and when it backfires, he will be yelled at. The ball finds the best player or the guy who thinks he is best. It's up to Lin.

Swing, was that during or after linsanity. Don't remember but I know he was one of the doubters before he got to see it with his own eyes. He learned unlike these blind mofos who refuse to believe in Lin no matter what he does.

Lin called dantoni an offensive genius .. There is something that Lin loved about his coaching philosophy. Lin is probably going to be better player this year than he was duringlinsanity, and if the lakers took a chance, I have no doubt Lin would excel in his system.

Really at this point, I just want a team to let him play point for a season. They don't have to believe in him but simply let him do what a pg is supposed to do. That is the only impetus Lin needs at this time to make believers out of them. The rox can't even do that for him.

Remember Solidz, there is 1 team out there for Lin still looming. I still believe out of all teams in the NBA, Utah may be the only team that actually wants Lin. I know they have Trey Burke and all that, but the Utah Jazz, I just won't count them out till Al Jeff and Paul Mils are signed away.

Didn't you read Morey loves Burke? Maybe he does a S&T of Asik/Lin to Utah for Milsap and Burke if Dwight goes to Houston. And maybe Howard said hell no to that and told Morey to either get a true 3rd star otherwise just keep Lin and Asik. More than likely idiot Morey was trying to convince Howard that good ole Parsons is already that 3rd star. But Dho aint THAT stupid.

I don't want Lin to go to Utah, but I can see that as one of the few teams in the NBA that will give a Lin an actual chance to play PG. Yi Jianlian ruined the Asian experience for Milwakee so Lin is safe from going there even if he wanted. It's these 2nd rate small market teams that I believe are the only real chance for someone like Lin, because of who he is and what he looks like.

Remember, Lin is the type of PG, that if he gets to play PG, will be the star guard of the team because Lin is a driving PG, which is a dynamic trait.

By wanting Lin to play PG his way, you are asking the team to allow Lin to be the star guard of the team. Because Lin's version of playing PG is dynamic, not the same as what Derek Fisher and Avery Johnson do.

hans, I'm with you on this one given Morey's flaccid statement on not having Lin and Asik on the block. (If you listen to when he answered that question, it was pretty weak.)

But, now let's assume that Howard surprised them in his reported positive response to the China pitch and maybe he smiled when they talked about Lin and feeding the beast:

1. it's been said that Howard doesn't do PnR well, but then I heard a sportstalker ask how could we expect Howard to like PnR with Kobe? It's come out, pick and watch Kobe shoot. So, maybe Lin and Howard will be as good as Tyson/Lin. And, if Howard tries to PnR with Harden, how often will Harden just pull a Kobe after the pick?

2. it'll be interesting to see what happens to Harden's game when he can't drive into Howard's space. At the GSW game, I saw Harden emphatically waive Lin and Asik off, and you should have seen them scramble out of the paint. Howard might not like that kind of treatment. And the drama that might ensue when Howard starts to tell McHale ... "Coach, he's coming right at me ..."

Yeah, so if Howard does sign with HOU, and Lin is still on the team, it's going to be a new day and maybe Lin can have a shot at a ring way before Carmelo. At that point, I'm not going to look back and expect McHale or Morey to act the same. They will adjust as Howard starts to even out Harden's influence. And, how they play together will be as much to do with them as by coaching/FO. Maybe more.

k gunner, at times yes, at least early on. I think Lin was overwhelmed or still injured, I don't know. He's human too and didn't play perfect. Lin figured it out toward the end with his strings of good games. Also, yeah you can't blame Lin if the coaches literally pry the ball out of his hands and tell him to hide in the corner. I'm not blaming Lin, I'm just saying generally the ball finds the best guy or the guy who has the gall to take over. In the pro game, obviously a coach decides a lot of that, but during the flow of the game, players decide some of that too.

At his best, Lin is like a full court fast break who pushes pace. He doesn't have Parker speed but since he's a bit bigger, he's more impactful such as being a better rebounder for one and probably a better defender than Parker esp. on switches.

maybe we just remember the season differently. I recall lin got the team to ignore mchell by december and took over as the leader of the team. but, by february, the team reverted back to iso-harden/lin in the corner.

and, towards the end of the season, houston's standing in play off run was dropping like a rock, so mchell had no choice but to reinsert lin as pg.

I'm agreeing with swing here. I think Lin was trying to please too many people in the beginning of the season. and he just let harden be the best on the team and started deferring more.

Plus he often had confidence lapsed where he passed up wide open looks with a shot fake that never seem to catch the other team off guard. This is the difference. Harden or parsons will continue to shoot even if their shots are not falling. Lin on the other hand will just give up and pass up on open looks to have somebody else shoot.

The circumstances didn't allow Lin to be the best player and he didn't try to become one. He tried hard to be a good role player .. And this is when he became passive and unsure of himself.

I don't think Lin's game is suited to be riole player. His game speaks alpha dog. Lin just needs an opportunity, which may never come barring injury.

I think we are both kind of right. Lin started off the season crappy in pre-season. He played 2 good regular season games and then 10 crappy ones except for the 38 pt game. Then in Dec, Lin got the ball more in one stretch in Dec and kicked some butt and yes, that ended abruptly for no good reason where they went iso Harden. It was pretty apparent to us but who the heck knows what was going on behind the scenes.

Then Lin was kinda on and off the rest of the year and toward the end, Mchale benched him for Beverly consistently and before that Douglas was doing the same. Every time Lin showed something, he was benched throughout the game consistently - that is all I remember. Houston allowed Harden to stat pad even in wins so he could make the all star game.

This yr maybe they allow both SG and PG to play optimum since Houston no longer holds the ASG. It means both might miss the ASG with their watered down stats, but the team will be better for it. I doubt it tho, Harden probably continues to iso hog when the game matters.

solidz i guess you forgot that lin took over the team as leader even much before his knee supposedly has healed. it was the coach that pried the ball away from lin.

true, lin didn't act like a dick primadonna like hardass and parqueer. but, i don't see it as lin not playing aggressive but he's simply playing his team ball.

and, i believe you have to have a bit of empathy to understand why lin froze at certain instances when the ball is passed to him. he's simply not used to playing off ball. learning to do so in real game situation is easier said than done.

Swing, also, if you recall, mchell took the ball out of lin's hands by taking lin out of the game entirely. lin was averaging over 10 pts a game in Q1 alone for a stretch between jan-feb. during those games, lin was the pt and ast leader before mchell pulls the plug on him and ices him out.

and, lin is put back into the game after sitting out most of the half. so, that's where the deer in headlight stuff happens. it's from sitting on the bench for too long and no longer having a feel for the game.

lin simply never developed a coming off the bench mentality because he never had to his entire life.

Etane I think we are agreeing here. I think it's definitely easy for me to say why are u so afraid to take a damn shot,... But I completely agree that the circumstances made Lin more passive. That is why I hate morey, Mchale and the rox organization. What they did do Lin to break him is downright criminal.

I remember Lin creating double digit leads for the Rockets going into the 4th quarter, then McHale starting the 4th with Tony Douglas or Beverly, then the other team makes a run to take the lead ... then McHale getting desperate with 2 minutes left and putting Jeremy back in.

zxcvb, you aint been to Boston before I assume. Aint no way the city of Boston is taking on Jeremy Lin. Aint NO WAY. I don't care if they hired D'Antoni and had the perfect teammates for Lin ready to go. People think Lin went to Harvard so he can play in Boston. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I can name you 2 teams Lin will never play on: Boston (seriously it's Boston, if you don't know now you know) and Milwakee (Yi killed any future Asian person from playing there for the next 2-3 decades)

The Pistons are specially looking for "athleticism" at the 1, 2 and 3. So maybe they really are interested and respectful of Jeremy. Also, it's nice to see a reporter specifically mention J-Lin's athleticism.

Rondo is a player who thrives with GOOD PLAYERS AROUND HIM. That has always been the case in Boston with Pierce, Garnett, and Allen. But he will no longer have good scorers around him, and he is not good at scoring by himself.

Lin is a player who can make average players, become really good near All-Stars.

Which would Boston rather have ?

Honestly, I can see the Hornets being better than the Rockets this season. Jrue Holiday + Tyreke Evans + Anthony Davis + Robin Lopez w/ depth off the bench.

Let's not forget that Jeremy Lin went to Harvard in Boston for 4 years, so he's considered "hometown" the way James Harden is considered "hometown" in Phoenix because Harden played at ASU.

I think that Boston thinks of Rajon Rondo as a Chris Paul level elite All Star. While I don't think Rondo is more than an average NBA point guard at best, I still think that Boston is seeking to rebuild around Rondo. So no Lin, it seems.

Detroit supposedly has rebuffed Houston's attempts to trade Lin for a signed and traded Jose Calderon. Jose Calderon is a good average NBA starting PG, but he's nowhere in Jeremy Lin's class as a player. I don't think Detroit or Houston know this, as both teams seem to value Calderon higher than Lin.

It just makes me shake my head at how NBA teams are so clueless about Jeremy Lin even after he's beaten them down.

I like your thinking. I think the ideal sort of team for Jeremy to be on is a rebuilding one, because they just need a lineup of cheap, one/two dimensional scrubs who can't create their own shot + Lin at PG. A center who catches alley oops and dunks. A PF who rebounds and do some PNR. A SF and SG who can knock down open shots. And hopefully all can play some fundamental defense.

Well, anyways, that's the ideal. Not that that ever going to happen in Boston or elsewhere. :-/

Jeremy doesn't need any specific cast to succeed -- he just needs to play point guard.

I mean, what so what ideal about NY? Playing with two SGs who can't shoot (Fields, Shump)? Zero low-post players? Zero slashers who could create on their own? And ball-hog Melo? And No-D Amare? That's why Miami shut down Jeremy, he was working with cruddy parts and they swarmed him.

People talk about MDA's system. It's just lots of PnRs and ACTUAL PLAYS.

"Detroit supposedly has rebuffed Houston's attempts to trade Lin for a signed and traded Jose Calderon."

Not sure about that. Until Dwight signs (or doesn't), Houston isn't making any deals. Also, even if that did happen, it could easily be Dumars trying to get more from Morey because he KNOWS Dwight wants another "star" on the roster (which would force Jeremy to be traded).

I wonder if Jeremy Lin is going to have a "Hangout" session for all the millions of Iraqis, Afghanis, Libyans, Serbians, Pakistanis, Vietnamese, Koreans, etc. that America's war criminals ... my bad, "military heroes" have slaughtered around the world.

Regardless of how people feel about American policy, the soldiers VOLUNTEERED to serve their country.

But I don't expect people to understand that. Also, please don't speak of our military as "murderers" because anyone who serves are under oath and ruled by the UCMJ, it governs the action of every armed forces personnel, and violation of such has dire consequences.

If I had a dollar for every shot fired at our unit while we were under strict rules of engagement and not allowed to fire back, because you know, chickensh*t insurgents use their own civilians as human shields and don't have a qualm about blowing their own people up while we're hounded by CNN/Reuters/Al Jazeera/BBC/ and we actually CARE about NOT killing their own people, I'd be a freaking rich man.

But hey, people who sit behind on their asses reading media playing armchair commandos who never even heard of the crack of 7.62 zipping by richocheting off some wall, or observed republican guards run over their own people with tanks, knows everything.

American armed forces are the most honorable fighting force in the world. Given our strengths, expertise and utter ability to render entire country to cinders within a very short amount of time, since the regrettable clusterf*ck that was Vietnam, our civilian casualties inflicted are almost always of the accidental kind, with that freaking .001% assholes that ruin our good name, and those fking mercs working for the company posing as us ruining our good name.

Now let's turn that around and see if the same exact countries you mentioned give a crap about enemy civilians. I can tell you, for a fact:

Afgans/Libyans/Serbians/Pakistanis/Vietnamese/Koreans all butcher enemy civilians without a second thought, they as practice LET their troops rape and pillage. Heck, they butcher their OWN people without a second thought.

American troops are disciplined, and we actually give a crap. We don't always agree on policy and yes sometimes we think we're fighting the wrong war, but we serve with honor, and IF some idiot commander would EVER order one of us to shoot civilians, he would probably be shot first.

Please don't over do it. I am always on the side of the US armed forces whenever US sends troops abroad engaging in battles and conflicts of one kind or another (which is something that never seem to cease.)But I won't be naive enough to hail them as the crusaders either.We are talking about soldiers with racial hatred who haze fellow Asian marines to death and clean cut officers who rape their own female soldiers as if it is their god given right.US armed forces are not the marching saints, if they are we can dismiss the MPs for good.

"Rule No. 1 of trying to trade a player is to deny you are trading him, otherwise you lose all your leverage."

Rox should come out with the truth. If it's true then they realise that Lin's job last season was to feed Harden, Parsons and Asik at expense of his own. Lin will be a good-great player where ever he goes because he improves those around him and in the 12/13 season he had respectable stats without playing large minutes.

He was nearly always being sat down during easy games when others eg Harden and Parsons scored freely in the runaway 4th quarters.

All this talk about Beverly being a good fit for Harden and Howard instead of Lin. I like to watch old videos of Lin turning Knicks around and getting them to the playoffs.

It's doubtful that Beverly will have a Linsanity period however short those few months were.

To date, Beverly has not matched Lin's exploits.

Lin, not Beverly has the skills, determination and experience to help other teams out of their low periods. Generally Lin sets up players for easy baskets, Beverly just passes the ball around to other players who have to expend effort and skills to score.

I'm infuriated that a guy like Bev can even make the NBA, let along be considered better than the NBA's best young point guard in Jeremy Lin.

All season long, Bev got ROASTED on defense. He played that garbage turnstile James Harden defense where some no name 3rd string scrub would throw a little head fake and Bev would just let the guy waltz into the lane. All that handwaving and fake hustle didn't keep scrubs like Reggie Jackson and Kendall Marshall from destroying Bev's nonexistent defense.

Then on offense, Bev rarely did anything unless Jeremy Lin was on the court protecting him on defense as well.

Houston had a point guard that should've been backing up Jeremy Lin: Aaron Brooks. Brooks at least can play NBA offense, which Bev could not and will never be able to do.

I can't think of a recent point guard I've seen who's more incapable than Patrick Beverley. He should've been in the D League, and even there he'd have struggled too.

Everything you say is correct. However, after the Rockets got Harden, they just want a PG that doesn't do much except pass the ball to other players and let them do their thing, and knock down some open 3s occasionally. Beverley does that just fine.

Heat found out that they need good support players for LBJ and Wade, they were that close to losing.

Rox haven't even gone past a first round playoff yet are deliberately wanting to weaken their team by replacing a proven PG (a la insanity) with the D League level Bev (as per KHuang) if Howard joins up. Over confidence to the nth degree.

To me it seemed like Beverly moved alot and seemed to have lots of energy but then didn't really manage the team, was more like a bee buzzing around your face and was prone to get called for fouls. I don't think he'd get very far into the 2nd quarter before he'd be in foul trouble.

I'm probably the biggest Bev hater on this forum, and it's not even because I think Bev is threatening Lin's job.

I don't even see Bev improving into a real NBA pg one day. He's got the body of an NBA player, but not the reflexes nor court sense.

Believe it or not, I'd be OK with Bev getting more minutes than Lin if Bev were getting stop after stop while also scoring and running the team the way a NBA pg is supposed to do. I want the best players to succeed, and if Bev was better than Lin then I'd be proclaiming it too. But that's not the case because Bev has NO GAME.

Jeremy Lin's court sense is a lot rarer than people realize. I liken Lin to a player like Peyton Manning who sees and does things that much less talented guys like Bev will NEVER be able to see and do.

Yes RJ, it was really weird to watch Bev become the LOH fav with fantasy skillz. I saw 2 games live and Bev always pal'd around with Lin and visa versa, so at least there was only warmth that I saw. The 2 of them walked right past me with smiles on their faces, coming back from halftime.

Beverly is no NBA player. Even houston know that. That's why they're trying to bring lull in NBA. They just want and wanted to get rid of jeremy cause in their opinions harden is a better creator ball handler and shooter.

I firmly believe that there are several players out there who would've been vastly superior to Bev for the money.

Some of those players are Scottie Reynolds, Zabian Dowdell, Delonte West, AJ Price, and Ben Hansbrough. While some of those players are ynder contract with other teams, I still believe that there are many players who are vastly more talented than Patrick Beverley and would not have as horrifically overmatched as he was last season.

Beverly is same as acie law ... Several players in euroleague are far better than beverly. Even acielaw now... He's improved. They're just so high with beverly just to bash jeremy and to convince les to drop him. As simple as that. Even they didn't like beverly... Cause they're trying to bring lull in NBA

Seriously, anybody can come off the bench and play with energy and "hustle" for 10 minutes at a time. Beverley can reach in and gamble on steals and offensive rebounds all he wants. It doesn't make him a better player than Lin.

Toney Douglas was the same way, lots of hustle, full court press defense, and reaching for steals. But Douglas was exposed, because:1. He can't keep that energetic level of play for 30-40 minutes a game.2. He can't defend bigger opposing guards.3. His small size made it more difficult to defend the pick and roll, either he'd get blown away by the pick, or get stuck guarding a big for which he's too scrawny to stop.

Beverley will be exposed if he plays for 30 minutes. His defense will get him into foul trouble.

Nash and Kobe and D'antoni will try to convince kupchack to do sign and trade. With Kobe still on board in the next years they can't get Lbj, melo or Paul George. I repeat, jeremy as sixth man will be pivotal like ginobili did for Spurs time ago. A couple of years with nash and the lakers and jeremy could choose wherever he wants to go in free agency